


self-sacrifice

by erdreas_archive



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: M/M, eleven says two words in this one, most characters other than erik only show up for a second, shockingly, the ship is super minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 07:24:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16383833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erdreas_archive/pseuds/erdreas_archive
Summary: While (unfortunately) tied to a pole, the blue-haired hostage thinks about exactly how he ended up there.





	self-sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> so...this was supposed to be based off the whumptober day 23 prompt self-sacrifice but then it got kinda...happy. oops. so yeah this is basically just the gondolia scene with some added dialogue and an extra kick to the face. also i did the scene entirely from memory so just pretend any differences that seem like mistakes are intentional.

Growing up the way he had, doing the things he did, Erik had always learned to put himself first. There was family, of course, but it wasn't like he'd had any since years ago. Being a thief, it came naturally, just doing what he could to keep himself (and whoever he was working with, but primarily himself) alive and as well as possible.

Sure, he'd stuck his neck out for Derk a few times, back when they worked together, but only after they'd spent what felt like forever together, and not in any huge way. He'd never been any good at thievery, but neither of them got killed because of his former partner, and that was something, he supposed.

So why -- when he'd spent years learning not to sacrifice himself for someone -- did it come so naturally to launch off the ground and take the hit that shouldn't have even grazed him? Why had he chosen to use himself as a shield for the others? Why is it him, now, tied helplessly to a pole as a hostage and not one of the others, or even the Luminary himself? Obviously, had it been Eleven, he'd have been carted off to Heliodor in an instant instead of tied to a stupid pole, but whatever. Same thing.

He knows the answer. It's how stupidly loyal he's always been, and how, try as he might, there was no vanquishing his conscience. Yes, he could pickpocket someone without a second thought, but let one of the people he was now friends with get hurt? No way. He couldn't, not if he could stop it. 

Erik isn't incredibly keen on admitting it to himself, but he cares about these people. Enough to take a spell for them. Serena, Veronica, even that creepy jester -- yeah, okay, maybe not him. And Eleven. They've been through so much in so little time, all of them, but especially the pair who first met in the dungeons because  _someone_  decided to make a hell of a lot of noise.

They all matter to him, which kind of sucks, because now he's a hostage, hanging almost limply from ropes on a pole, and yet he doesn't regret a thing. He never could.

Jasper yells something else about the Darkspawn, snapping Erik out of a sort of trance. He's talking about what they'll do to him if Eleven doesn't show up, which is probably some fancy ass Heliodorian torture Erik's  _so_  excited for.

"They're not coming back, you know," the blue-haired hostage comments, raising his head. "They're probably on their way out of the city by now." And it was true. He'd told them to run, he'd bought them time to do so, and so they've most likely run.

Jasper clicks his tongue, clearly annoyed that the pawn in his plan decided it could speak. "You're wrong, little thief. With you as the hostage, it's certain the Darkspawn and his comrades will be back very shortly."

Erik snorts, shaking his head. As if that'd be true. He met them all only days ago, and unlike Eleven, he plays no crucial role in their quest. He's not a healer, and just because he's a strong fighter doesn't mean he's the only one, so they don't need him for battle. If they showed, it'd likely be because they all felt some heroic need to do so. "I don't see them," he states in a matter-of-fact way sure to piss Jasper off.

"Neither do I," the knight agrees. "But they'll be here soon enough. And in the meantime, well," he shakes his head, and immediately launches into a high spinning kick that has blood dripping from Erik's nose when it makes contact. Sure to bruise his left cheek, too. How pleasant.

"What fun," he replies, quietly and dryly. An armor boot to the face fucking hurts, surprisingly enough. He's always been one to downplay injuries, though, and that won't stop now.

Jasper doesn't seem to want to dignify that with a response, but turns to his knights and orders them to search the area. Once alone, he glances around for a moment, then whips quickly around to look at something off to Erik's right. 

Erik sees them a second after Jasper does. 

Eleven, Veronica, Serena, Sylv, they're all here. They all look ready for a battle, and as he watches helplessly, they jump into one.

They came back. Why would they come back? A sense of heroism, or something, like he'd predicted? Now they're throwing themselves into danger when they could've escaped, for him. They probably had to fight their way up here, too. They shouldn't have come back. But they did, and now they're here, and there's nothing he can do but pray they win the fight.  _Please don't lose. Please don't lose._

They win.

Before he's certain of what's going on, Serena's rushed over to untie him, and he's trying to steady himself while also rubbing the areas on his arms where the ropes dug into his skin. Regardless, he rushes to join them while Jasper struggles to stand.

The hand on his face makes him jump a little, but when he glances over, it's just Eleven, rubbing his upper lip to rid it of the blood from that annoyingly brutal kick. He's about ninety percent sure his cheeks are growing red now, because he can feel them getting warmer, not that he knows why. Probably because it's been a long time since he's been touched this gently and this intimately and frankly, it's a little startling.

"You okay?" Eleven asks quietly, pulling his hand away and bringing him back to his senses. The look on his face is as calm as ever, but the widened eyes betray the slightest hints of worry.

"Yeah. I am." His face still kind of hurts a lot, his arms are sore, and he's probably still blushing a little, so, all things considered, he's doing pretty well.

Minutes later, Sylv's introduced them to his extravagant ship (the Salty Stallion, of all things) and they're speeding away from Jasper and his knights.

Veronica's cheering, Sylv looks stupidly excited, Serena has a soft smile on her face, and he can even see the tiniest upward pull at the edges of Eleven's lips. Yeah. He'd take a spell for these people again, and again, and again.

**Author's Note:**

> i love erik. so much. gonna be honest im only 27ish hours into the game but i had to write Something. feedback would be awesome, ill definitely be writing more dqxi shit soon
> 
> come follow me on [tumblr](https://erdreas.tumblr.com) im lonely over there despite not being super active


End file.
